BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

08/06/2007

Kozulin Seen as Political Prisoner in Belarus

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in Belarus believe former presidential candidate Aleksandr Kozulin is not a criminal, according to a poll by IISEPS. 34.9 per cent of respondents regard Kozulin as a political prisoner, while 25 per cent think he is being correctly punished.

Kozulin, a member of the Social Democratic Party, was arrested in February 2006 for allegedly "pushing a policeman" and "damaging a picture of the president at the police station." He was later sentenced to five and a half years in jail for hooliganism and incitement to mass disorder. Several international organizations, including the European Union (EU), have called for Kozulin's release.

The Belarusian presidential election took place in March 2006. Aleksandr Lukashenko, who has governed the former Soviet republic since 1994, claimed victory and secured a new five-year term with 82.6 per cent of all cast ballots. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said the ballot "did not meet the required international standards for free and fair elections" and deemed it "severely flawed due to arbitrary use of state power and restrictions to basic rights."

On Jun. 5, during a visit to the Czech Republic, United States president George W. Bush mentioned Kozulin during a speech, saying, "There are many dissidents who couldn't join us because they are being unjustly imprisoned or held under house arrest. I look forward to the day when a conference like this one includes Aleksandr Kozulin of Belarus."

Polling Data

Last year, former presidential candidate Aleksandr Kozulin was sentenced to five and a half years in jail for hooliganism and incitement to mass disorder. Many international organizations, the European Union (EU), and the United States consider Kozulin a political prisoner and insist on his release. Belarussian authorities consider Kozulin a criminal. What is your opinion?

Kozulin is a political prisoner and should be freed

34.9%

Kozulin is being correctly punished

25.0%

This is not important to me

32.1%

Not sure

9.0%

Source: Independent Institute for Social, Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS) Methodology: Interviews with 1,530 Belarusian adults, conducted in May 2007. No margin of error was provided.

Source:

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/16030